Rylan J. Lundgren

A Highly Versatile Catalyst System for the Cross-Coupling of Aryl Chlorides and Amines

The syntheses of 2-(di-tert-butylphosphino)-N,N-dimethylaniline (L1, 71%) and 2-(di-1-adamantylphosphino)-N,N-dimethylaniline (L2, 74 %), and their application in Buchwald-Hartwig amination, are reported. In combination with [Pd(allyl)Cl](2) or [Pd(cinnamyl)Cl](2), these structurally simple and air-stable P,N ligands enable the cross-coupling of aryl and heteroaryl chlorides, including those bearing as substituents enolizable ketones, ethers, esters, carboxylic acids, phenols, alcohols, olefins, amides, and halogens, to a diverse range of amine and related substrates that includes primary alkyl- and arylamines, cyclic and acyclic secondary amines, N-H imines, hydrazones, lithium amide, and ammonia. In many cases, the reactions can be performed at low catalyst loadings (0.5-0.02 mol % Pd) with excellent functional group tolerance and chemoselectivity. Examples of cross-coupling reactions involving 1,4-bromochlorobenzene and iodobenzene are also reported. Under similar conditions, inferior catalytic performance was achieved when using Pd(OAc)(2), PdCl(2), [PdCl(2)(cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene), [PdCl(2)(MeCN)(2)], or [Pd(2)(dba)(3)] (dba = dibenzylideneacetone) in combination with L1 or L2, or by use of [Pd(allyl)Cl](2) or [Pd(cinnamyl)Cl](2) with variants of L1 and L2 bearing less basic or less sterically demanding substituents on phosphorus or lacking an ortho-dimethylamino fragment. Given current limitations associated with established ligand classes with regard to maintaining high activity across the diverse possible range of C-N coupling applications, L1 and L2 represent unusually versatile ligand systems for the cross-coupling of aryl chlorides and amines.

Addressing Challenges in Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions Through Ligand Design

The development of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions has revolutionized the synthesis of organic molecules on both bench-top and industrial scales. While significant research effort has been directed toward evaluating how modifying various reaction parameters can influence the outcome of a given cross-coupling reaction, the design and implementation of novel ancillary ligand frameworks has played a particularly important role in advancing the state-of-the-art. This Review seeks to highlight notable examples from the recent chemical literature, in which newly developed ancillary ligands have enabled more challenging substrate transformations to be addressed with greater selectivity and/or under increasingly mild conditions. Throughout, the importance and subtlety of ligand effects in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are described, in an effort to inspire further development and understanding within the field of ancillary ligand design.

Palladium-catalyzed mono-α-arylation of acetone with aryl halides and tosylates.

We report the first example of selective Pd-catalyzed mono-α-arylation of acetone employing aryl chlorides, bromides, iodides, and tosylates. The use of appropriately designed P,N-ligands proved to be the key to controlling the reactivity and selectivity. The reaction affords good yields with substrates containing a range of functional groups at modest Pd loadings using Cs(2)CO(3) as the base and employing acetone as both a reagent and the solvent.

Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Aryl Chlorides and Tosylates with Hydrazine

Aryl hydrazines are highly valuable intermediates in the synthesis of a number of important nitrogen-containing heterocyclic frameworks such as indoles (through the Fischer indole synthesis), indazoles, aryl pyrazoles, and aryl triazoles. In some cases, hydrazine reacts with haloarenes directly in nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions; however, such reactions typically occur at high temperatures, and/or only with highly electron-deficient haloarenes, or at selected positions of halogenated heterocycles. 4] The prevailing method for the preparation of aryl hydrazines relies on the stoichiometric oxidation of anilines to their corresponding diazonium salts and subsequent reduction. The transitionmetal-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl halides and hydrazine represents an attractive alternative to the traditional synthesis of aryl hydrazines. However, despite the tremendous progress made in the field of Buchwald–Hartwig amination reactions over the past decade, no such reaction has been reported. Hydrazine presents a number of potential problems in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. First, hydrazine is an aggressive reductant of both organic and inorganic substrates, and could reduce key PdAr(X) species, thereby promoting the generation of catalytically inactive Pd aggregates, as well as reducing aryl halide substrates by hydrodehalogenation. Second, aryl hydrazines can undergo metalmediated N N bond cleavage, thus resulting in the formation of undesired aniline by-products. Finally, and most importantly, the product aryl hydrazines still possess three reactive N H bonds that can undergo further C N crosscoupling, thus leading to polyarylated products. Some of these challenges have been circumvented by the use of hydrazine surrogates with attenuated reactivity such as benzophenone hydrazone or protected hydrazides, although such strategies are not ideal from efficiency or economic standpoints. In addition, arylor alkyl-substituted hydrazines, which are less prone to undergo some of the above described detrimental side reactions, have been employed as substrates. Herein, we report on a palladium catalyst system and reaction conditions that allow, for the first time, the cross-coupling of aryl chlorides and tosylates with hydrazine. The reactions proceed rapidly under relatively mild conditions with excellent monoarylation selectivity, thus providing direct access to aryl hydrazines. We began by screening a variety of ligands (Scheme 1) and reaction conditions (Table 1) in the hope of effecting the cross-coupling of 4-phenylchlorobenzene with readily avail-

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Alkylations of Amines with Alkyl Halides: Photoinduced, Copper-Catalyzed Couplings of Carbazoles

N-alkylations of carbazoles with a variety of secondary and hindered primary alkyl iodides can be achieved by using a simple precatalyst (CuI) under mild conditions (0 °C) in the presence of a Bronsted base; at higher temperature (30 °C), secondary alkyl bromides also serve as suitable coupling partners. A Li[Cu(carbazolide)_2] complex has been crystallographically characterized, and it may serve as an intermediate in the catalytic cycle.

Catalytic asymmetric C-N bond formation: phosphine-catalyzed intra- and intermolecular γ-addition of nitrogen nucleophiles to allenoates and alkynoates.

Pin the amine on the gamma: A new method has been developed for the γ-addition of nitrogen nucleophiles to γ-substituted alkynoates or allenoates through intra- and intermolecular processes that are catalyzed by spirophosphine 1. An asymmetric version of this reaction affords enantioenriched pyrrolidines, indolines, and γ-amino-α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.

Enantioconvergent Cross-Couplings of Racemic Alkylmetal Reagents with Unactivated Secondary Alkyl Electrophiles: Catalytic Asymmetric Negishi α-Alkylations of N-Boc-Pyrrolidine

Although enantioconvergent alkyl-alkyl couplings of racemic electrophiles have been developed, there have been no reports of the corresponding reactions of racemic nucleophiles. Herein we describe Negishi cross-couplings of racemic α-zincated N-Boc-pyrrolidine with unactivated secondary halides, thus providing a one-pot, catalytic asymmetric method for the synthesis of a range of 2-alkylpyrrolidines (an important family of target molecules) from N-Boc-pyrrolidine, a commercially available precursor. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that two of the most straightforward mechanisms for enantioconvergence (dynamic kinetic resolution of the organometallic coupling partner and a simple β-hydride elimination/β-migratory insertion pathway) are unlikely to be operative.

An Examination of the Palladium/Mor-DalPhos Catalyst System in the Context of Selective Ammonia Monoarylation at Room Temperature†

An examination of the [{Pd(cinnamyl)Cl}(2)]/Mor-DalPhos (Mor-DalPhos = di(1-adamantyl)-2-morpholinophenylphosphine) catalyst system in Buchwald-Hartwig aminations employing ammonia was conducted to better understand the catalyst formation process and to guide the development of precatalysts for otherwise challenging room-temperature ammonia monoarylations. The combination of [{Pd(cinnamyl)Cl}(2)] and Mor-DalPhos afforded [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(η(1)-cinnamyl)Cl] (2), which, in the presence of a base and chlorobenzene, generated [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(Ph)Cl] (1 a). Halide abstraction from 1 a afforded [(κ(3)-P,N,O-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(Ph)]OTf (5), bringing to light a potential stabilizing interaction that is offered by Mor-DalPhos. An examination of [(κ(2)-P,N-Mor-DalPhos)Pd(aryl)Cl] (1 b-f) and related precatalysts for the coupling of ammonia and chlorobenzene at room temperature established the suitability of 1 a in such challenging applications. The scope of reactivity for the use of 1 a (5 mol %) encompassed a range of (hetero)aryl (pseudo)halides (X = Cl, Br, I, OTs) with diverse substituents (alkyl, aryl, ether, thioether, ketone, amine, fluoro, trifluoromethyl, and nitrile), including chemoselective arylations.

Zwitterionic Relatives of Cationic Platinum Group Metal Complexes: Applications in Stoichiometric and Catalytic σ‐Bond Activation

Zwitterionic platinum group metal complexes that feature formal charge separation between a cationic metal fragment and a negatively charged ancillary ligand combine the desirable reactivity profile of related cationic complexes with the broad solubility and solvent tolerance of neutral species. As such, zwitterionic complexes of this type have emerged as attractive candidates for a diversity of applications, most notably involving the breaking and/or forming of E-H and E-C sigma bonds involving a main group element E. Important advances in ancillary ligand design are documented that have enabled the construction of platinum group metal zwitterions. Also summarized are the results of stoichiometric and catalytic investigations in which the reactivity of such zwitterions and their more traditionally employed cationic relatives in sigma bond activation chemistry are compared and contrasted.

Palladium-catalyzed synthesis of indoles via ammonia cross-coupling-alkyne cyclization.

The synthesis of indoles via the metal-catalyzed cross-coupling of ammonia is reported for the first time; the developed protocol also allows for the unprecedented use of methylamine or hydrazine as coupling partners. These Pd/Josiphos-catalyzed reactions proceed under relatively mild conditions for a range of 2-alkynylbromoarenes.